Team Work
by KathrynFox
Summary: When two teams, half the Earth away from each other, start to experience similiar breakdowns they aren't too concerned. But when they wake up and find they have switched places, in environments they have no idea how to tackle, how will they cope?
1. Argumental

**TEAM WORK**

_A Torchwood/Sea Patrol Crossover written for Jennifer Hampson._

_Copyright Disclaimer – I do not own any of the characters from either Torchwood or Sea Patrol. _

CARDIFF, WALES

Night had long since fallen inside the Hub and outside it. The lights were dimmed and only Toshiko's work station was still active, running through her latest computer program with the monitor off. Toshiko herself had long since gone home, as had Gwen and Ianto. Owen should have left – in fact, almost had – but at the last minute had realised he'd forgotten his mobile. So now he was rooting through the medical bay in search of the missing object.

His hand had just closed on it – why on Earth was it in the medical fridge? – When a small buzzing noise echoed quietly around the Hub. It was a sound Owen didn't recognise, but that caught his attention. Hopping up the stone steps and poking his head around the wall, he found his eyes drawn to Toshiko's station. The computer was still chattering happily away to itself, but wasn't emitting the buzzing. Cocking his head and moving further into the work area Owen jumped when he heard it again. Frowning slightly he twisted round, trying to locate the source. That was when he noticed that the chunky, metal column to the right of the small flight of stairs was flashing. It wasn't bright or alarming, just sort of pulsating with light. And as Owen drew in curiously he found that it was also the source of the gentle buzzing.

"Hmm" Owen reached out a finger and moved aside some of the thickly coiled wires that ran the length of the Rift Manipulator. He could still remember the time he hotwired it into opening up the rift to bring Jack and Toshiko back…that had seemed a good idea at the time, but not so much when it ended up getting him fired and bringing about the potential end of the world. "Good times" he muttered. If Owen was honest, which he rarely was, he didn't have the foggiest clue how the machine worked, just that it did. Toshiko and Jack were the experts, and even Ianto knew how to 'tweak' with it. But ever since the disastrous episode earlier that year, Owen had tried his hardest not to pay it any attention. But now…

He glanced around, wondering if he should go and find Jack. He knew the Boss was probably around somewhere – in his office doing paperwork, in his office doing phone catch-ups, in his office doing Ianto. Owen smirked; the latter seemed the likeliest… Except that Owen had seen Ianto leave with the others. "Unless he doubles back somehow…" As Owen studied the column he considered how naïve Jack and Ianto were, not to realise that he, Gwen and Toshiko knew all about their extracurricular sessions after, and sometimes during work hours. He estimated it had been going on for a couple of months now, ever since Jack returned from seeing his Doctor. "Whatever that was about... Perhaps he isn't as immortal as we think…"

Making a mental note to test his theory sometime, Owen gave up on the column. It was quite clearly not going to tell him anything, and it didn't appear to be anything serious. He would have a quick peek again in the morning. So walking back to his own station Owen pulled on his jacket and turned to go. Halfway to the cog door he froze…and patted his pocket. Cursing he headed back to the medical bay once more in search of his phone.

*** **T** ***

Gwen yawned as she slid under the covers of the bed, curling herself alongside her sleeping fiancée. Rhys was stretched out on his side, one arm across his face, mouth open and snoring softly. Gwen smiled to herself, _this is the man that I plan to entangle, _and reached out an arm to the bedside cabinet. She twisted the silver alarm clock towards her, and pressed her thumb down on the top button. The face of the clock lit up in a gentle shade of green light, and Gwen groaned. "One in the morning," she muttered, returning to the warmth of the bed. "Typical".

What was most frustrating to Gwen was that she needn't have been home late that night. They hadn't been working a case; there were no abnormal disturbances, and no unusual rift activity. Yet she, Ianto and Toshiko hadn't been able to leave until gone midnight. Owen had hung around a little longer, muttering something about _his whole life in one stupid machine. _She sighed as she thought back to the disagreement the team had earlier that day. _Not a disagreement, a major row. _It had all started when Ianto came in from the garage, having cleaned the SUV for the sixth time that week, and suggested politely that perhaps someone else could have a crack next time. Of course Owen being his usual sarcastic self had hinted that as, in his own words, _his own occupation was Doctor and not tea boy, busybody or butler _he would be having nothing to do with it. Then Gwen had felt morally obliged to step up for Ianto and have a good rant at Owen, causing Toshiko to suggest perhaps it wasn't entirely Owen's fault. And then, just as whole thing had spiralled way out of control, Jack had appeared at the top of the stairs and fired his gun. Gwen shuddered as she remembered the Pteradon feathers falling slowly to the ground. _Do Pteradon's actually have feathers? It might have been a pigeon _she thought hopefully.

Gwen closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. After they had fallen silent, Jack had called them into the board room, and calmly pointed out that it had been the tenth quarrel that month. He had then, albeit it unhappily, suggested going on some teambuilding exercises. Whilst Toshiko was keen on the idea, the looks of horror on the other three faces were enough to dismiss the scheme. So instead Jack had kept them behind to organise the archives, catch up on filing and clean out the morgue. "It's like being back in blooming' school" Owen had grumbled. "Is it?" Toshiko had asked blankly.

Gwen only hoped that it would be the last squabble they had for awhile, as they were starting to get on her nerves. And _her _nerves were getting on _Rhys _nerves and it was becoming a rather vicious circle - and she couldn't even recall what had been the original cause of the distrust. Even so, a less optimistic part of her brain wasn't convinced it was over, and as Gwen drifted into an uncomfortable sleep she thought; _if only we could work as a team again. _

*** ***

AUSTRALIAN WATERS

"Action Stations! Action Stations! We have a man overboard!"

The curt voice of the XO rang out aboard the Patrol Ship via the PA system, and from their various positions and decks the Hammersly crew sprang into efficient action. From his position on the bridge Commander Mike Flynn watched his team assemble on the main deck, and begin the process of releasing the swimmer. He half smiled to himself despite the situation.

"Good to see you smiling, sir"

Mike turned round, taken aback by the closeness of the voice, but relaxed on seeing the XO.

"Well, it's good to see they appear to have got past their previous difficulties, X"

She nodded, picking up a pair of binoculars. Kate watched as ET, clad in diving gear, leapt into the clear blue waters and started his swim towards the half submerged man further out to sea. The civilian was thrashing in the water, fighting desperately to stay afloat, and Kate bit her lip. She was amazed that the man, who had been thrown overboard by some Korean fisherman terrorists, was still alive. ET waved his hand towards the deck, announcing he had secured the man, and the winch began withdrawing them to the ship.

"A lucky save, sir" Kate smiled with relief.

"It wouldn't normally be..."

Kate turned her head, confused, to find the CO frowning slightly behind his own binoculars.

"Sir?" she prompted.

He sighed and, placing his hands in his overall pockets, started descending the narrow steps which led to the main deck. Kate followed behind, still a little perplexed. As their boots clanged on the metal deck Mike turned to face her, a serious expression on his face.

"These, squabbles...no..," he furrowed his brow, searching for a better word. "...disputes amongst the crew, they've been going on long enough".

Kate nodded, understanding exactly what he was talking about now. Roughly a month ago the slightest disagreements, whether it was over shore leave, what was being served in the galley, executive decisions or even who used up all the hot water that mornings, were becoming full blown scraps and occasionally brawls. It wasn't uncommon for sailors who lived in such close confines to fall out, but such disputes as those recently experienced on board were unpleasant, and also dangerous.

"It does appear to be getting better, sir"

Mike hummed in his throat. "We can hope Kate, we can hope. Now..," his sombre face broke out into a grin. "Let's welcome our new guest aboard".

*** **S** ***

"So I told her, I did, I told her that I worked for the government..."

"Come on Spyder, no girl's gunna buy that!"

"Well," Spyder took a pause to swallow some of his drink. "_She_ sure did. Asked to see my badge and all"

"What did you tell her?"

"That I must 'ave left it in my other jacket..."

"So - please tell me she came to her senses and told you to get lost?"

"No," Spyder glanced around the table dramatically, a broad grin plastered on his face. "She said I should come back to hers, and I could draw her a diagram instead".

ET, Nav and Swayne cracked up, spilling some of their drinks on the table. The RO looked shocked, and Buffer reached across to slap Spyder on the back, causing the young mid-shipman to cough and splutter. Normally this brotherly gesture would have been appreciated by Spyder, but not tonight.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"What?" Buffer looked a little taken aback, but quickly recovered with a grin. "Scared you might break something?"

"Got brittle bones?" teased Buffer, Spider going a little red.

This made Buffer and the others roar with laughter, until they saw the furious look on Spyder's face.

"I'll show you brittle bones!" he glared at Buffer. The older man stopped laughing and looked suddenly concerned. He reached out a hand to slide away Spyder's gin and tonic.

"I think you've had enough to drink, mate"

"Get off!" Spyder slapped his hand away.

"Ok, calm down" Swayne said calmly, looking between them. The RO was sliding away from them unnoticed, wanting nothing to do with the fuss. He distracted himself by contemplating re-arranging his desk when he got back to the ship.

"No I won't!" Spyder scraped his chair back and leapt to his feet, only to stumble sideways. "You don't think I could take you..." he narrowed his eyes at Buffer.

"I _know _you couldn't" said Buffer modestly, taking another swig of his pint. He wasn't going to pay Spyder any more attention. He had seen the squabbles that had been going on recently, been involved in some of them too. But now it had gone on too far.

"Come on," Nav stood up and stretched nervously. "We should probably be getting back to the ship. _Some of us _evidently have a hang-over to sleep off..."

"I AM NOT DRUNK!" Roared Spyder suddenly, taking them all by surprise. His hand had smacked Nav's cocktail and Swayne's rum and coke flying.

"Ok that's it," Buffer took to his feet and, grabbing Spyder by the scruff of the neck, started to pull him from the bar. He smiled apologetically at the people watching with open mouths, and behind him Nav and ET quickly paid the bill. However, just as the party reached the door, Spyder lashed his foot out and caught Buffer in the shin.

"Ouch, you little..." Buffer started, but before he could finish his sentence Spyder had ducked from his grip and was raising his fists in a traditional boxing stance. Buffer was torn between laughing and groaning. He threw a furtive look about the bar, where most eyes were still focused apprehensively on them. _This isn't the place, or the time, _thought Buffer.

And then, just as he went to take hold of Spyder again, the mid-shipman lashed out a punch which caught Buffer on the nose. _Ok, that does it. _

From their place by the counter, Nav and ET watched with mounting horror as Buffer grappled with Spyder. They had no doubt which would ultimately win, but the spectacle was not one which had the Navy's respectable image in mind. And as if to demonstrate that point, just as ET and Swayne prepared to pull the two men apart, the CO and Kate entered. Her look of shock and his one of anger were enough to send a ripple through the watching sailors. Spyder was bent at the waist, Buffer's muscled arm around his neck like a hook. Although Spyder's hands were still scratching at the taller, stronger man's arms and face Buffer was taking no notice. He was too preoccupied with staring, wide eyed in dismay, at his two senior officers.

*** **S** ***

"You are relieved, Mid-Shipman" The usually taunt voice of the XO sounded suddenly weary as she approached ET across the dark decks of the Hammersly.

"Yes Ma'am" he flashed a tight grin, but on seeing her expression let it slide slowly from his face.

"Any trouble?" she asked, as he prepared to climb down through the hatch. ET paused, unsure whether she meant trouble as in Navy trouble, or trouble as in the recent outbursts. "Yes ET?" she encouraged.

"Well actually there was something..." but even as ET spoke he was dismissing it himself. After all what he'd seen, or what he _thought _he'd seen had probably been a figment of his tired imagination, or an after effect of that evening's tussle in the bar. But he caught the firm look on the XO's face and sighed. "I saw, I _thought _I saw a flash in the sky like..."

"A flare?" she was instantly alert.

"No ma'am, defiantly not. It was bigger and a lot brighter. Yellow and white"

"Where?" she insisted. ET sighed; he would never get down to the junior mess at this rate.

"Right up there, east of us," he pointed with his finger. "But I don't think it was anything serious. In fact I'm sure now that I was just tired. After all, I've never seen anything like it before and if no one else saw it..." he was rambling. The XO smiled,

"Fine ET. Get below, drink some coffee and don't let the Commander see that fine television. We don't need another fight to spark up, do we?"

"Yes ma'am" ET saluted, and continued eagerly down the hatch. Kate watched and tutted under her breath. _Men, _she thought. Kate had to wait for the next watchman to arrive so allowed her back to rest gently against the wall of the sea cabin. She was exhausted after the days' antics, and all she could think of was her inviting bed. The Commander had been furious, dragging Buffer, Spyder, Swayne, ET, Nav and the complaining RO into the board room. Although the latter four had been released fairly quickly they'd still looked a little shaken up, Mike wasn't taking lightly to the flare ups anymore. Kate wasn't sure what he had said to Buffer and Spyder, and she hadn't seen them again for the rest of the evening. Sighing Kate shifted to a more comfortable position and stared up at the sky, half in search of ET's mysterious light. She was sure that something must have happened to cause all the distress, but she couldn't even recall what had been the original cause of the distrust. Shutting her eyes for a moment the XO wished; _why can't we go back to working as a team again?_

Twenty minutes later and her replacement still hadn't arrived, which was annoying considering that watch duty was not part of her job. Kate was sure that he would be one of those eying up the new television, loosing track of all time. She let out some air impatiently and stood up to stretch. She would just have to walk along the deck and use the radio to hail someone on the bridge. The night air was cold despite their geographical location – whatever people said, Australia could be nippy at night, and even more so out to sea. This was another reason for her duvet appearing so inviting at that moment.

The various lights scattered about the walls and rails of the ship cast long, greying shadows across the walkway, an eerie side effect. But Kate was accustomed to it by now, and in her minds' eye could picture what the gangway looked like during the day. And then she was at the radio. _Ok, let's get this little bugger to his station. _She pressed her thumb down on the transmitter button and spoke clearly into the microphone.

"Bridge, this is the XO. Are you receiving". There was a small pause, before a crackly voice replied,

"This is the Bridge. What's the problem?" Buffer sounded sullen even through the radio. Kate could imagine him lazing back in the driving seat, glaring at the monitor. She almost smiled to herself, if anymore would wish they were watching the new television right now it would be him.

"Mid-Shipman Charlton has not reported to his evening watch. I am currently covering"

"Am I to locate?" he sounded a little brighter, now that someone else was also in trouble.

"Thanks. Over and Out"

Kate strode over to the rails and looped her arms about them, the sea breeze lifting and tossing loose strands of her hair as her body bobbed in time to the ship's movements. The dark sea rolled beneath her, inky black stretching out as far as she could see. Kate yawned wide and blinked her eyes, glancing at her wrist watch – goodness! It was only nine o'clock! And then, out of the corner of her eye, something moved – something in the water. She shouldn't have been able to see it but at that precise moment the ships light beam swept the starboard side. Kate's eyes widened. She had thought she had seen some_one _floating in the water. She strained to see again but there was only black, and the sound of waves crashing against metal. _Come on, come on! _Kate urged the searchlight. _Hit the water! _And then it did; revealing a head and torso bobbing unceremoniously face down in the water. Just as Kate turned, preparing to race to the radio something made her turn back.

"That's odd..." she muttered, frowning and leaning over to get a better look. The sensible part of her was saying that this person needed help, but the other half was sure something wasn't quite right. As the beam swept around again Kate narrowed her eyes. The person's skin looked green. A sickly, pale green. _They might have been in the water a long time, _she reasoned. And it didn't have any hair on its head. _Could be bald. _And it didn't appear to have any arms or legs. _They could be under the water..._and where were its ears? Kate was suddenly aware that she was shaking, and that the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on edge. And then, just as she leant a little further over the rails, unable to turn away, its head snapped around with a sickening crunch to look at her. _Right _at her!

Kate screamed, and fell backwards. Possibly as a floating body shouldn't be able to do that, but more likely because where its eyes should have been were two, gaping red holes. Her back slammed into the hard, wet deck, and she struggled to regain her feet. Kate scrambled to the radio and lifted the receiver.

"Bridge!" she gasped desperately, panting for breath, trembling in fear.

"XO. You're replacement has been found. He's on his way now" Buffer explained lazily.

"Buffer! There's someone, some_thing _in the water" Kate was jumbling her words, unable to think properly.

"Say again XO?"

"I said..." but whatever she said went unheard to the Buffer, as she didn't speak another word. He frowned, put down the receiver and reached across for the radio which connected with the Junior Mess. He would just have to tell Charlton to hurry up, and check that the XO was alright.

Down on the main deck, Kate had collapsed onto the floor. Her head was tilted to one side and her hair covered her face, her stomach pressed into the slight damp of the floor where she had fainted. A few inches above her head the radio was swinging, and the voice of Buffer was calling her name.

*** ***

CARDIFF, WALES

Jack groaned and rolled over. For a man who never dreamt he'd been having a surprising number of dreams lately. Blinking open his eyes, he waited for them to gradually adjust to the semi darkness of the bunker. A gentle light was seeping through the round hole in the ceiling, linking the bunker to his office, and for a second Jack could have sworn it blinked in and out of time, as though something had moved quickly across it. But then he shook his head and turning onto his side, put it down to the dreams.

As Jack Harkness fell back into his troubled sleep, involving dreams of pale green creatures with no hair, he had no idea that his four colleagues were sharing them. Or that half way around the world, five other people were sleeping disturbed too.

4


	2. Changes

_Sorry with the long delay before updating, I have just been trying to find a long enough moment to sit down and continue! I am really pleased that people are enjoying this, and appreciate all reviews! Once again I do not own Sea Patrol or Torchwood, any of the characters etc. _

**CHANGES**

Kate McGregor was talking in her sleep. This was not an unusual occurrence, and unbeknown to Kate quite a few people knew about it. Her Commanding Officer, Mike Flynn, had experienced the random mutterings a couple of times as he watched her fall asleep. Nikki Caetano, her friend and fellow officer, had grown accustomed to the sleep chat as she occupied the bunk above the XO. Even Billy Webb, known to the crew as Spider, had stumbled drunkenly into her cabin one night and barely contained his muffled laughter as she warned all present to, '_beware the talking cookies!' _Somehow the knowledge of Kate's sleep talk had spread around the ship until it was common knowledge. One person, however, who did not know that Kate McGregor talked in her sleep, was Rhys Williams.

Until now.

Rhys was not sleeping very well. It had taken him a long time to drift off that night as he troubled over his recent squabbles with Gwen, wondering what had started them and more importantly if they were going to stop. He had resolved to do everything he could to appreciate his future wife, putting the fights down to her suffering long, hard days at work. So when he overheard her jabbering about cold cinnamon buns, unruly oven mitts and singing crab fish, he suppressed a giggle and rolled over to admire Gwen in all her sleeping glory.

Of course what he actually found lying beside him caused Rhys to leap out of the small double bed in horror. Mainly because the person who was muttering in her sleep, curled up in his bed was not actually Gwen. It was at about the same time that Rhys was backing towards the ensuite bathroom, mouth wide open in mingled shock and confusion, whilst he wracked his brains to recall what had happened last night, that Kate yawned, stretched and blinked open her eyes. It was about five bleary seconds later that she too was out of bed, yelling in horror, and brandishing the silver alarm clock for defence.

* * *

Gwen Cooper had never spent any long periods of time out at sea. Yes, she had been on a ferry a couple of times before - most notably during her mid teenage years when her parents dragged her off for a 'fun-packed' family adventure holiday to the Isle of White. But she had never really experienced the full middle of the ocean sea breeze, or the strong current breaking against the sides of a ship before. So as Gwen Cooper began to wake up that morning, these were two of the first things she noticed. The second was just how warm it was, and the third that her mattress felt strangely hard and solid. The fourth was however quite possibly the most alarming. Gwen blinked open her eyes slowly, and as they focused, she discovered around four pairs of male eyes staring back at her in equal surprise.

* * *

Having become accustomed over the years to waking up as the sun rose and shone through his cabin porthole window, Mike Flynn overslept once it had been taken away. Not that the sun had been taken away as such, but was being hidden from view. This was due to Mike Flynn being deep underground and surrounded by layers of concrete, metal and rock.

When he did yawn, stretch and roll onto his side – as per normal morning procedure – and open his eyes, he decided he must not have opened them properly. Or he was still dreaming, For in every direction that he looked, all he could make out was never ending black. Becoming slightly panicked Mike went to struggle out of the bed – and collided with a wall. Cursing, rubbing his head and wondering what the hell had happened Mike tried to stand up. This only made the matter worse as his shoulders and upper body whacked against more solid concrete. It was only after he had taken a few deep, calming breaths that Mike finally noticed the small round hole in the ceiling. Having made quite sure that he wasn't concussed and/or likely to fall over, he crouched and moved towards it. Tentatively he straightened up, head rising through the hole to take a look around.

If he wasn't utterly convinced yet, then what Mike saw reassured all his convictions that he was indeed still asleep and having a very strange dream.

* * *

Jack was frowning. Although he hadn't bothered to open his eyes yet he had been awake for some time. He knew he was being a bit childish, waiting for his wake up call, but then Ianto was just so _good_ at wake up calls. It was one of the few times they actually got to spend together before the rest of the team arrived and the day began. And what was even more infuriating was it seemed someone had turned the light on in his office, as something bright was searing through his eyelids.

_Perhaps he's mad at me, what with all the fights recently. _Jack sighed, deciding that was probably it. He could still remember when only a few nights back he had tried to persuade Ianto to take Jack back with him to his apartment, only to be given a pile of paperwork, a scathing look and a snappish retort about Jack needing to get his priorities sorted, that they were overloaded with work and they didn't have time for _that_.

Whatever the reason for Ianto not showing, that light was really starting to get on Jack's nerves. He wasn't even sure that the light in his office could look that bright with his eyes open, let alone closed. So, flexing his shoulders and rolling his neck, Jack sat up a little, keeping his back rounded so that he wouldn't hit his head.

A precaution which, he realised on opening his eyes, was entirely unnecessary.

* * *

Swain had been working late last night. So late that he had fallen asleep in the ward room, most likely on the examination table. Which was all good in the sense that his paperwork was up to date, but less good when he considered just how achy he would feel for the rest of the day. Sure enough, as he began to wake up Swain's back twinged and his body ached.

Groaning, he began to sit up, rubbing a hand across his face in an effort to wipe away the sleep. His first thought was something along the lines of hoping Bomber had started on breakfast as he could really use a good slice of toast, some crispy bacon and a really greasy egg. His next thought involved his medic side scolding him for wanting to kill his arteries, and the final thought pretty much put a halt to both the other two.

Scanning the room Swain frowned, taking in the large room with its leather sofa and large plasma television screen, the beer cans and bottle strewn across the floor alongside an empty pizza box. He had been certain he had fallen asleep in the ward room. _But this isn't the ward room. This isn't even my cabin. _With a sudden chilling realisation that can only occur when a person has begun to truly wake up, Swain swallowed hard. _This isn't even on the ship!_

* * *

Owen Harper's first thoughts were relatively similar to that of Swain's, except that instead of wanting a fry up, he was becoming increasingly likely to throw up because of one. As he woke he became very much aware of a familiar pounding in his head, a sense of rising nausea in the pit of his stomach and the incredibly dry mouth. Squeezing his eyes tighter against the aching sensation he ran threw his mental check list,

"Dry mouth? Check."

"Fatigue? Check."

"Aching, inflamed eyes? Check."

"Sore throat? Check."

"Upset stomach? Check."

"Headache? Check."

"Dizziness and vertigo? Check."

He knew the feeling far too well: a bitching hangover that would last at least a whole day and may even carry on to the next day. Owen sat up slowly, swaying dangerously for a moment. Eventually he felt brave enough to prize open his eyelids and the fuzzy room began spinning dangerously before him. He took a couple of deep breaths and blinked, waiting for his living room to come into focus. Only, it didn't.

What did come into focus convinced Owen that he must still be drunk, which in turn made him laugh. This, coupled with the smell of bacon, eggs, sausage and all things greasy wafting in through the door made him throw up. And that was how he was found, moments later, by an attractive young woman with copper red hair holding a very full plate of food.

"Morning Swain, I thought you could do with a bit of a pick-me-up this morning so I..." The young woman froze.

"Hi," Owen grinned, trying to ignore the taste in his mouth. "I'm glad to see that even when intoxicated my brain can come up with someone like you. Shame about the vomit."

"Who _are_ you!" The woman asked, watching him warily. "What are you doing here?"

Owen frowned slightly in puzzlement. "You're not in my head?"

The woman widened her eyes and spoke slowly, as though to a deranged person. "No."

"Ah." He glanced at her alarmed face, then the plate of food. And Owen Harper threw up again.

* * *

Nikki Caetano smiled to herself. She often did this when she was having a really good dream. Her current dream was especially pleasing as it involved her and Josh Holiday on a secluded beach where no one would find out about them. It was going really well; they had been swimming, eaten a picnic, drunk some champagne and had a mini-wrestle in the sand. And now Nikki was looking into his eyes, only inches from hers. And he was leaning in...he was smiling...he closed his eyes...she closed hers...

'_Do you think my hair looks good?'_

Nikki frowned, "sure."

'_Can you see any of the pesky greys?'_

Nikki frowned even harder, "um, no."

'_Of course not. That's because I use L'Oreal's complete grey cover for men."_

Nikki swallowed, wondering what was happening to her perfect dream, and more importantly why ET was talking about hair dye instead of kissing her.

'_Trust me, it'll reduce the appearance of greys until your friends will swear you never had any!'_

There came a very loud, over hearty laugh which sounded fake and hollow.

"What the...?" Nikki opened her eyes, expecting to see Josh holding her on the beach. But she opened her actual eyes and instead found an image of a middle aged man proudly holding a packet of hair dye, surrounded by simpering women. It was a couple of seconds later that she realised she was looking at a television screen, in a room that she didn't recognise, on a plum coloured sofa.

If she had been confused whilst having her dream, it was nothing compared to how she felt now.

* * *

Toshiko Sato was woken by the tinny sound of an alarm clock a couple of inches from her left ear. Grimacing she rolled onto her side and stretched out a hand to turn it off. It was only as her hand got about half way there it suddenly occurred to Toshiko that she hadn't ever set an alarm before going to bed before, and that she didn't even own an alarm clock.

Puzzled, she froze with her hand still comically outstretched. Although she was still emerging from the dregs of sleep Toshiko's brain kicked in, and came up with all possible explanations for an alarm clock which shouldn't be there. What was even more alarming was that Toshiko knew she had fallen asleep in her living room, curled up on the sofa, and yet here she was stretched out on what felt like a mattress, with a duvet across her.

She felt a little embarrassed as she recalled the reason for her falling asleep on the sofa in the first place. She had felt miserable after that long, uncomfortable day at work where in they had all fallen out, and on arriving home she had promptly microwaved a jumbo size bag of popcorn, kicked off her shoes, poured a glass of wine and put on the television. She hadn't actually watched it, she just liked having the background noise. Instead she had entertained herself by creating a new program for her PDA – a pastime which never failed to soothe her.

_In fact, _Toshiko reasoned, _perhaps that's the source of the alarm. Perhaps I did make it to bed and I don't remember. _Smiling, and feeling a little more secure now that everything had been rationalised, Toshiko blinked open her eyes. Of course when she realised she was lying on the top bunk of a small cabin room with a round porthole revealing lots and lots of water to her left, it just blew her theory to hell.

* * *

Robert Dixon liked order. He liked conformity and neatness. He liked to know where everything was and what everything was. He liked being in Australia because he liked the light, and the heat. He liked healthy food, sanitation, vitamin supplements and his bonsai tree. The things that Robert Dixon didn't like on the other hand could fill an entire novel and still have room for a bestselling sequel. And what Robert Dixon found when he woke up that morning could have been the topic of chapters one through to ten.

It was dark. It was damp. The air was moist and musty. There was the sound of dripping water coming from somewhere, and it echoed around him. It was this that actually woke him, and was the focus of his attention for a whole minute as he contemplated the disastrous effects a leak in a ship could produce. He even yelled out, trying to hail somebody else's attention. However, it quickly became clear that no crew member was coming to his assistance, mainly because he wasn't on the ship. Not unless the ship had acquired a new, cavernous sized room that seemed to stretch on forever and was filled with shelves upon shelves stacked high with dust covered boxes disappearing into darkness. Twisting around in panic Robert realised he was sat in a chair at a small desk which held two neatly filled trays labelled '_Needs Archiving' _and _'Needs Further Examination'. _There were also a couple of pieces of paper filled in with very neat and precise handwriting, signed by someone called Ianto Jones.

Just as Robert was beginning to feel utterly flabbergasted, a small PDA on the table lit up. Leaning forward to read the message on the screen Robert had to look twice, just in case he had imagined it.

"Feed the Pteradon," he read. And with that he put his head in his hands and came to the only plausible conclusion; ET and Spider had finally followed up with their threat of abandoning him in some germ infested warehouse, and it had driven him insane.

* * *

It could be argued that Robert Dixon and Ianto Jones had a lot in common. They were both neat and tidy, for example. They were also both pivotal but often over looked members of a team. That said they also differed greatly. Whilst Ianto liked giant flying reptiles of the dinosaur nature, Robert preferred miniature trees. This was all well and good but when Ianto Jones woke up that morning and found himself facing a tiny tree, only a few feet from his right eye, he was quite convinced that he had grown really big and in doing so the rest of the world had shrunk.

That thought didn't last too long of course, but it did lead to another, slightly more troubling one. Namely, _what is this tiny tree doing in the Archives?_ And then, _hang on, where are the Archives?_ And finally, _where the hell am I! _

All in all it was a rather troubling time for Ianto, but possibly even more so for the bonsai tree which in Ianto's panicky state had been accidently knocked off the desk and lost several branches in the process of falling, along with its bowl smashing as it hit the ground.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I now have a couple of weeks free to write, so if you think it is worth continuing please let me know! Thanks _


	3. Discovering The Hub

**DISCOVERING THE HUB**

"What on Earth?" Mike Flynn was stood, staring around with an expression of incredulity as he took in where he was. If he hadn't already pinched himself raw he would have decided that this could be nothing more than a figment of his imagination – perhaps he had watched too much Star Trek as a kid? But no, what he was seeing was real. Scarily real.

He was in what had appeared to be a cavernous chamber. There were walls which went up much higher than three stories, covered in slime, green plants and damp with no visible windows. In fact the whole place seemed to be lit by electronic lighting. There were different levels on the ground, including an area with what Mike assumed were high tech computers and work stations which beeped and whirred occasionally. There was another room with an array of weapons hanging on the walls and resting on cases which Mike had never seen anything like before. The only items he could identify were a couple of black, semi-automatic pistols, and even they looked advanced. Even more alarming was a large silver water feature which appeared to start on the ground level and shoot up out of the roof. Water pooled from it, leaking out into little streams and channels and the whole floor was built on metal platforms raised above them.

When he accidently stumbled past the sofa – which just seemed so out of place that he would have laughed, had he not been in shock – and almost fell into the sterile white room Mike shouted out in alarm. He was staring at what had to be a dead – _please let it be dead_ – body lying on the top of an examination table. On trays and other tables around the edge of the small, circular room where medical instruments, scans and x-rays. There was another computer chattering away to itself. With his heart in his mouth beating so fast it pounded in his head, Mike edged cautiously down the steps and towards the body. He couldn't help it, there was something grotesquely compelling about the figure. It appeared humanoid, but as Mike got closer he began to notice the dark, leathery skin which was wrinkled impossibly deep around the face. The mouth was partly open, revealing teeth so sharp they could have bitten right through Mike's arm. And the claws on the things hands were nothing like finger nails. Strangely enough, it was dressed in a blue boiler suit which bore a strong resemblance to Mike's own Navy overalls.

Shaking, he backed away again. He couldn't deny that he was in this place, and he couldn't persuade himself that what he was seeing wasn't really there. Somehow he had been taken to some sort of futuristic, straight out of a science fiction movie base. But what the hell for?

From repeatedly being in highly pressurised situations over the years Mike had gained a very clear and responsive mind, and in that moment it kicked into gear. Hurrying back up the steps Mike headed to one of the work stations and began searching for anything which might indicate where he was.

"I must have been taken off the ship," he thought aloud. Shore leave hadn't been due for another couple of days, since that disaster the other night with Spider and Buffer. The fact that he could remember this came as a small wave of relief to Mike, but quickly turned in to horror as he feared for his fellow crew mates. _Are they here too?_

After minutes of desperate searching Mike had discovered a couple of things. Firstly, whoever owned that desk was a bit of a geek. There were mathematical equations and synergies on pieces of paper all over the table. Although Mike had never been much of a maths whizz he could recognise impressive work when he saw it. Secondly, this person lived on coffee. There were at least three half empty mugs on the far side of the table, and a few biscuit crumbs too.

That wasn't getting him much further though. Running a hand through his hair he turned his attention to the next desk along. This one was even more of a mess than the last; littered with official looking documents headed 'autopsy reports', a stethoscope, white lab coat covered in tiny, brightly coloured badges, and a couple of small desk toys including a stress ball. Becoming slightly more desperate Mike turned to the furthest desk, and instantly saw something useful. The computer monitor at this station was on, displaying a series of grey, slightly grainy images which was recognisable as CCTV footage.

More hopeful that he might learn something about where he was, Mike hurried forward, looking through the images. A couple showed various rooms and locations which Mike had already found, including the circular medical room and weapons room. There was also an image of the strange office in which Mike had woken up. And then there was one of a block of cells, each fronted with a glass panel. Mike actually jumped back when something threw itself at one of these. He peered at the grainy image and realised in mingled confusion and horror that it was identical to the thing lying on the medical table, except that this one was moving, jumping and snarling. Taking a deep breath Mike succeeded in reassuring himself that the glass panel did appear to be restraining the beast, _if that's what it is._

The next image was a little more startling, if that was even possible. It displayed an enormous looking area filled to the brim with giant shelves and boxes coated in darkness. Except, that was, for a small light in one of the corners which turned out to be a single lamp on a table. And next to that lamp was a figure, bent over the desk and clutching at his head. Mike frowned, whoever that person was they definitely _looked_ normal - more human. And squinting in a little further Mike could have sworn he recognised the overalls which the person was dressed in.

* * *

Robert Dixon didn't know what to do. He had always thought of himself as intelligent, focused and calm in emergency situations. And here he was cowering over some desk whilst he freaked out. That said, he was quite sure he had never been in a situation quite like this one before - unless he counted the one time when someone had spiked his drink with magic mushrooms at his high school dance.

"Perhaps I've been drugged again." Actually, he reasoned that the idea wasn't so crazy. He didn't know who would have done it but was willing to hold firm bets on Spider being the culprit. After all, why else would he be receiving messages about feeding extinct creatures and have read a report about 'Unidentified Artefacts from the planet Alba II in the Gaffa-Minor system'.

"I'll just sit here and wait until it subsides." He nodded empathetically, and closed his eyes against the madness.

* * *

Mike had failed miserably in persuading the computer to give out the location of the giant shelf room. He had tried clicking, tapping and scrolling – which was about as far as his computer knowledge went.

"God I wish ET was here!" Mike growled, fighting the urge to kick the base of the computer. He sat down in the black wheelie chair and slumped across the keyboard on the desk, adopting a similar pose to that of the person in the giant room. It did cross his mind that the person, wherever they were, might have gone mad with being stuck in this place. But just as Mike realised with a groan that he would probably be joining them soon, a clear metallic voice spoke,

"Speaker enabled."

Mike frowned and sat up. The voice had definitely come from the computer. "What?" he asked, staring at the screen. And even as he said it the tiny figure at the desk looked up, right at Mike.

* * *

Robert heard the voice. And really wished he hadn't. Because if he could hear the voice of Mike Flynn, the CO of the Hamersley, then it could mean only one thing - he had been discovered somewhere – probably still at his desk – and his Commanding Officer was not happy. Robert sighed, and hoped to goodness that he didn't look a total wreck in the real world.

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what's happened. I appear to have lost all function of my brain, and seem to be stranded in a strange room, surrounded by strange things."

* * *

Well that got Mike's attention – he would recognise that voice anywhere! The slightly surly, snappish voice of Robert Dixon, the Radio Operator on Hamersley. Mike knew he should be concerned that Robert was also stuck in this dreadful place, but he was just so grateful at not being alone. Even though, by the sounds of it Robert was still going through the 'refusing to accept where he was' stage. Mike took a deep breath and spoke again,

"Robert. You are not imagining this, and you are not hallucinating. You are sat at a desk in a very large room surrounded by book shelves."

* * *

Robert poked his head up again – _that was weird. _Then another, slightly more hopeful thought entered his brain - _perhaps he can't see me! Perhaps I'm just hallucinating that he is talking to me. _Then he frowned. Surely if he had to listen to someone talking at him then his brain would have chosen someone a little more exciting, Bomber perhaps. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the image of Bomber before waiting with baited breath to see if she would reply. When all he got was the voice of the CO again, Robert groaned.

"Robert Dixon! You are not hallucinating. This is your Commanding Office speaking, please reply!"

Robert scowled. If anyone _was _watching then he was going to look very silly talking to himself.

"All right, sir. So if I'm not hallucinating why are you invisible?"

* * *

Mike chuckled despite himself – it was just such typical Robert behaviour.

"I'm not invisible. I'm talking to you through some sort of communication device from another area of this, ah, place."

He watched as Robert muttered something about never going to forgive Spider, and realised that he wasn't going to be able to persuade Robert. Which left only one option – that of going to find him.

"Look, just stay where you are. I'm coming to find you."

Mike jumped away from the computer with new enthusiasm. He wasn't just a lost, bewildered, disbelieving, slightly terrified person anymore. He was a lost, bewildered, disbelieving, slightly terrified person with a goal!

* * *

Mike had succeeded in discovering the opening to what looked like a tunnel, which appeared to lead continually downward, and after what felt like hours of fruitless searching in a rabbit warren of corridors and doors, finally found the one which led into the room he had seen on CCTV. The grainy image really hadn't done it justice – the place was huge! And seemed to go on and on into the darkness for what could have been forever.

Mike pulled himself together and spotted Robert, still hunched over the desk. That same sense of relief flooded him again as he accepted that it was indeed Robert, not some hallucination of his own. Mike hurried forward and stood on the other side of the desk, staring at Robert, who was humming something which sounded suspiciously like Mozart's third symphony.

"Robert?" Mike asked hesitantly, beginning to fear for his ship mate. Robert glanced up, stared at Mike with an expression of mild curiosity, and then looked down again.

"No. Robert is not available. Not unless Bomber is present."

Mike frowned, then got the gist. "Robert you are not imagining me! I am here, standing in front of you!"

Robert sighed, rolled his eyes and gave Mike a pointed look. "Listen, figment of my imagination..." suddenly he froze, staring at Mike with a look that could only be described as horror, and spoke in a high, squeaky voice, "Why am I imagining you half naked?"

"What?" Mike looked at Robert as though the man really had lost it. "I'm not, I..." and then he looked down. "Ah."

It appeared that however he had arrived at this place, he had arrived still in his sleep wear – a plain white shirt and a pair of boxers. Mike coughed and took the executive decision to push past it. And now Robert was laughing in a mirthless manner, as though he couldn't quite believe himself.

"Robert," he took the RO's shoulders and shook him roughly, trying to stop him from laughing.

"Yeah?" He wiped a tear from his eye.

"Damn it man, for the last time you are _not _imaging me. I woke up this morning and found myself alone in this strange place, with no recollection of what had happened. Then I stumbled across the CCTV and saw you down here!"

Robert stared at him, letting the words sink in. "I'm not imaging this?" He said slowly.

"No. I swear to you this is actually happening, and we need to sort it out."

Robert nodded silently, and then he smirked. "Well, I guess _that_is more likelythan me picturing you half naked."

"Fine," Mike tilted his head. "Whatever helps, just so long as you believe me. Now come on, we need to find out if there is anyone else stuck here. And," he glanced down again, "perhaps see if they have any spare clothes in one of these rooms."


	4. Bedside Blues

**BEDSIDE BLUES**

"I'm _where_!" Kate McGregor stared in disbelief at the man across the room from her. Ever since they had discovered each other that morning Rhys and Kate had silently chosen a corner of the room each and stuck to it.

"Cardiff," Rhys muttered, repeating himself without really paying attention to what he was saying. He was desperately trying to recall what had happened the night before - _I could have sworn I fell asleep next to Gwen! _It crossed his mind that someone was playing a joke on him, perhaps Gwen was getting him back for that time he put a spider in the shower with her? But looking at the expression on the face of the person across the room from him, Rhys couldn't quite accept this lady was in on the joke.

Kate made a small noise in the back of her throat, and in a small voice said, "Cardiff?"

"Yes, sweetheart!" Rhys snapped back; his confusion transforming rapidly into anger. "Cardiff! Capital city of Wales! Wales being in the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom being in the northern hemisphere of the planet _Earth_. Do you need me to draw you a map?" He snarled. Kate stared at him, not really seeing him either, her head shaking as she mouthed a silent 'no'.

Rhys glared at the carpet, shaking a little from his outburst. Then he turned and stormed from the bed room, running his hand across his face as he went.

Kate watched him go, still too shocked for much else. _I'm in Wales? Is this a joke? _Kate wracked her brain, beginning to pace around the room. She didn't think she'd be kidnapped, not anymore - this guy was far too surprised for a start. She could just be on shore leave, and had got rather mixed up last night – _but shore leave isn't for another couple of days! _And then Kate remembered – she had been on the deck of Hamersley waiting for the watchman to arrive. She had seen something in the water.

Kate shuddered. That couldn't be right. Had she imagined that thing? That terrible, impossible thing?

Turning on her heel she marched out of the room too, looking for the mysterious man. She was in a small open plan apartment and it didn't take long to locate him. Now that she had calmed down a bit Kate took him in properly; broad shouldered, middle height, a little overweight and not at all her type. Kate accepted that somehow she had woken up in his bed, but she couldn't, she _wouldn't_ accept that she had miraculously appeared in Cardiff, Wales!

_That said, he does have a welsh accent. _

Rhys looked up to find the strange woman staring at him. She was very attractive with long blonde hair, green eyes, an Australian accent, a slim athletic figure and...

"Why are you wearing overalls?" Rhys asked, the question seeming so stupid that he actually snorted.

Kate glanced down, then back up at the man. In a cool tone she replied, "Because I work as a janitor on weekends. Why the hell do you _think?"_

Rhys shrugged, genuinely non-plussed. Kate sighed, "I'm the executive officer on HMAS Hamersley."

"The Navy?" Rhys frowned.

"The _Australian _Navy," Kate corrected.

"Oh," Rhys looked surprised. "So what are you doing in Cardiff?"

"I'm not _in _Cardiff!" Kate snapped, "Why do you keep saying that?"

Rhys chuckled in an apologetic manner. "Yes, you are." He strode over to the radio which was sat on a shelf in the kitchen and turned it on. Right at that moment the morning DJ announced in an overly jolly tone,

"Good morning Cardiff! Looks like we are set to have top notch weather here today! In fact, we will be experiencing nearly tropical heat as we approach 10 degrees this morning!"

Kate's mouth dropped. _10 degrees!_

Rhys couldn't help but grin – he liked to be right. But his smiled quickly faded as he finally acknowledged that this woman really didn't have a clue how she had got there either. "What's your name? He asked, a little more kindly than earlier.

"Kate. Kate McGregor," she replied, still reeling from the shock of discovering that she would never to live to discover how she had been transported miles around the world – as she would most likely have frozen by lunch time.

"Right. Well, hello. I'm Rhys Williams, this is my apartment. In Cardiff," he added, just to re-iterate it. Suddenly he slapped his head, making Kate jump, as a thought hit him. "Of course! Why didn't I think of this sooner, it's got _their_name written all over it!"

"Whose name?" Kate asked, eyebrows raised.

"Bloomin' Torchwood," Rhys muttered under his breath as he dialled a number on the phone and placed it to his ear. "You know it was only last year that we had another strange girl arrive, and she stayed for Christmas! Only Gwen did have the decency to introduce us...rather than just plonk her in the bed!"

Kate had so many questions. Who was Torchwood? It sounded like some sort of social services agency. Who was Gwen? A relative, girlfriend, wife? And if Kate really was in Cardiff - which she was admitting it was now hard to ignore - had the others realised she was gone yet?

"Hi, Jack?" Rhys spoke curtly into the phone, flashing Kate a quick reassuring smile that suggested the problem would be solved soon. Kate sincerely doubted it.

And then Rhy's expression fell a little. "Mike? Sorry, I haven't met a Mike before. I'm Rhys – Gwen's fiancée," there was a noise from the other end. "What do you mean you haven't heard of me!" Rhys snapped with indignation, "Doesn't she even bother to introduce me these days! Look, just put Jack on so that I can shout his ears off."

Someone spoke on the other end, sounding rather bewildered. Kate sighed and sank into one of the chairs around the kitchen table. Her line of sight caught on a newspaper, and her eyes widened. It was _The Times, _and the date, currency and title most certainly backed up the fact that she was now in the UK.

"Well then where is he?" Rhys sounded even more aggravated now. Kate felt a small pang of sympathy for him – she knew that social agencies could be a real nightmare to work with. "Fine, how about Gwen, is she there?"

"Ianto?"

"Toshiko?"

"The other one, what's his name – Owen?"

Rhys shook his head in bewilderment. "Okay, so who is there? Robert? I don't know any Robert either! Look, is this some sort of joke..."

But Kate zoned him out. _Mike, Robert. _She frowned, _no way. Surely not. _

She leapt to her feet with a small jolt of hopefulness. Waving her hand at Rhys she indicated giving her the phone. He shrugged and handed it over, turning away to bang his head against one of the cabinets.

"Hi, this is Kate McGregor," she spoke into the receiver. "Is this by any chance Mike Flynn?"

The excited noise at the other end of the line was all the confirmation she needed.


	5. Phone Calls

_Thanks for any reviews I've received. I've got some ideas about where to take this – just need to get the Sea Patrol team back together first! I hope I'm getting the characters right, I don't have much Sea Patrol knowledge and am using my sister as a sea patrol dictionary!_

**PHONE CALLS**

Nikki couldn't believe this was happening. She had gone to bed in her bunk aboard the Hamersley as per usual, and woken up on a stranger's sofa in a stranger's house as per less usual! Even more alarming were the looming grey clouds and people walking past on the street dressed in overcoats, scarves, gloves, woolly hats and more!

Nikki shook herself and looked around the kitchen again. It was a modern affair complete with central island work surface and stools. She had searched the house from top to bottom and found no one, not one person - the whole time dressed in only the striped pyjama pants and vest top she had fallen asleep in. She was all alone and utterly bewildered. But Nikki was nothing if not also relatively sensible, and despite her situation she gritted her teeth and set about trying to decipher where she was.

Nikki strode back into the living room where the television was still switched on. She picked up the remote and pressed a couple of buttons until she was presented with a news channel.

'_Jacob Llewellyn is on the scene, reporting for BBC Wales.'_

'_Thanks for that, Harriet. Yes, I am currently on location at the processing plant where a few days ago it was announced that a large quantity of illegal meat was being stored and shipped. Although the details are sketchy, the local police have suggested that higher powers did get involved. In a direct interview with local resident, Mrs Davies, I was lucky enough to find out more about this situation.'_

'_Well, I knew straight away that this was no ordinary crime as soon as a saw that black SUV pulling up...'_

But Nikki didn't really hear much of that, not after the initial sentence.

"Wales?" She muttered the word, then,

"_WALES_!"

* * *

Unlike the rest of his equally unfortunate crew mates, Swain had succeeded in getting his priorities straight. After a short, albeit overwhelming panic he had calmed down and made his way into the kitchen end of the apartment that he had found himself in. He'd rooted around the fridge for awhile and helped himself to a selection of ham, cheese and what he hoped was some form of butter. Then he searched through the remaining cupboards until he found some bread – which _was_ going a little fluffy around the edges but would have to do – and made himself a sandwich.

It was only as he settled at the table and began to eat his snack that his gaze drifted to the large, glass windows – and he dropped the sandwich in surprise.

"What the _hell _am I doing in Cardiff!"

Also unlike the rest of his crew mates Swain hadn't given much thought to where he was, or how he'd got there yet. He'd been saving it for a time when he was comfortably full of food and felt a little more alert. And again, unlike his friends Swain had actually _been _to Cardiff once before. It had only been last year, with Sally and Chloe. They had gone for a week's holiday in the south of England, and travelled across to Wales for a day trip. So that was how Swain recognised the bay area of the Welsh capital when he saw it, and he didn't really have much time to spare a thought for the spectacular view this apartment offered before be broke into another overwhelming panic.

* * *

Having checked the newspaper that had fallen on the mat in front of the door, turned on and listened to the radio in the kitchen, and finally darted out into the street – which was _freezing _cold – and asked a startled lady clutching shopping bags if she was indeed in Cardiff, Nikki couldn't deny it any longer.

She headed back inside and quickly shut the door, her arms automatically rubbing themselves to warm back up. She wanted to break down and panic but found that she couldn't. _For goodness sake! Am I not yet freaked out enough!_

She found herself drawn towards the phone in the kitchen, and considered phoning the Naval headquarters in Australia. Surely the crew back on the Hamersley would be panicking by now, wondering where she was? With a twinge Nikki thought about ET, and wondered if he was concerned for her. But she shook her head – the cost would be extortionate. Instead she needed to find out how she had got there, and whose house she was actually in. There was a small pad of paper by the phone, embellished with little cartoon calculators – _weird or what? _Nikki noticed a number had been scribbled down on the top page, and circled repeatedly in heavy pen. Frowning she drew nearer and read the name under the number,

"Owen, home."

Perhaps this Owen would know why she was here? It was a long shot but Nikki picked up the phone and tapped in the number – which appeared to be local as she sure didn't recognise the area code – and thumbed the ring button.

* * *

Swain was still in a state of panic so when the phone rang the first time he missed it. Well, technically he just didn't register it as being important. The second time round on the other hand he was so desperate for a distraction that he scooped it up without really thinking.

"Hello?" he managed; his hand shaking a little as he took in the beers on the floor. _Did I drink those?_

"Hi, is this Owen?"

Swain frowned. He recognised that voice – _no, it can't be._

"No sorry. Who is this?"

"Um, my name is Nikki Caetano."

"What!" Swain couldn't quite believe his ears. "Nikki, it's Chris!"

"Really?" She sounded so relieved. "Where are you?"

"Cardiff."

"Me too! How did we get here?"

"I don't know," Swain admitted, though he was so much less concerned now that he realised he wasn't alone. "Where are you?"

"Um, in a house I don't recognise."

"Yeah, me too." Swain glanced around, really taking the apartment in for the first time. It was quite big and sparsely furnished, as though the occupant didn't spend much time there. "Hey Nikki, look around for something that might have an address on it."

He heard her agree and, still clutching the phone to his ear began to do the same. There was a pile of post on the table – mainly envelopes which looked liked bills – which had the address on them. Swain frowned; all the letters were addressed to Dr Owen Harper.

"Nikki?"

"Yeah?" She sounded as though she was doing the same as him, dividing her attention between the phone and searching. "Why did you call this number?"

"Oh. Whoever lives here has the number circled on some stationary near the phone. The name underneath said Owen."

"Yeah, this is apparently the home of Dr Owen Harper."

A short silence fell, and then Nikki broke it.

"Bingo! Got a letter! Apparently I am in the house of Miss Toshiko Sato."

"Right," Swain was glad they had a lead. "Tell me the address and I'll come and get you."

"How will you know where to go?"

"I've been to Cardiff before. I think I'll be able to find you, and if not, I'll ask for directions." He sounded as determined as he felt. Something very strange had happened and he wanted to know what. Nikki read out the address and Swain couldn't help but smile.

"You're not far from the bay either. Okay, I'm on my way."

* * *

Nikki couldn't do much but wander back to the living room after hanging up the phone. The minute Swain had gone she felt all alone, which was silly because he was on his way to find her. _Pull yourself together Nikki. _She did feel less panicked now though, knowing that she wasn't alone.

Sighing, she settled herself back on the sofa she had woken up on. Nikki couldn't help but remember that she was still wearing her pyjamas, but what else could she do? She guessed she could borrow some of this Toshiko Sato's clothes, but what if Toshiko was twice her size? And besides, it wouldn't feel right.

'_Thank you for that Mrs Davies. So as you can see this is another case which appears to have the mysterious Torchwood agencies' signature on it. Back to you in the studio, Harriet.'_

Nikki half listened to the news reporter, but with little interest. Right now she had bigger concerns than a meat plant or some mysterious agency called Torchwood'.


End file.
